Network-on-chip (NoC) is a fabric topology widely used in multi-core processor systems. Within an on-chip network, routers may be connected to neighboring nodes. When data traffic is low, most links between pairs of routers can be available, and thus a data packet can hop from one router to another within a short period of time, such as within a clock cycle. However, when data traffic is high and links become congested, a packet may have to wait for a substantially longer time before it can transfer to a neighboring router. The delay until the transfer may become exponentially larger for each additional node between the packet and its destination.